American Nightmare

American Nightmare is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Don McBrearty and starring Lawrence Day, Lora Staley, Lenore Zann, Michael Ironside, and Alexandra Paul in her feature film debut. It tells the story of a successful pianist investigating the disappearance of his sister in an urban decadence as a serial killer targets prostitutes and sex workers. The screenplay by John Sheppard, based on a story by John Gault and Steven Blake, was influenced by the rising crime rates in American cities throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The film was executive-produced by Paul Lynch, who had previously directed Prom Night (1980). Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario in 1980 on a budget of CAD $200,000. The film initially received a small theatrical release in March 1983 in Canada before appearing on television in the United States the same year. Plot In the dead of winter in a large unnamed American city, Isabelle smokes a joint on a cheap hotel bed while one of her johns finishes showering in the bathroom. At the sink, the unseen man puts on latex gloves. Isabelle makes an oblique reference to the man about a sex tape that was used as blackmail. The man exits the bathroom wearing only a towel and the gloves, and violently kills her, slashing her throat multiple times with a straight razor. Isabelle's brother Eric, a successful concert pianist, arrives at her apartment, prompted by an incoherent letter she sent him. Isabelle's transsexual neighbor Dolly informs him that Isabelle is a stripper and prostitute using the pseudonym "Tanya". Dolly tells Eric that Isabelle has been missing for several days. Eric visits Blake Industries, where his estranged father Hamilton Blake is CEO and overseer of UniSave, a nonprofit outreach for abused and endangered children. Eric asks for his father's help in finding Isabelle, but Hamilton refuses, dismissing Isabelle for her "degenerate" lifestyle. Once Eric leaves, Hamilton pulls a photo of his daughter out of his desk to fondle. Eric locates the strip club where Isabelle worked and speaks to her coworkers, including dancers Louise and Andrea, who live in the same apartment building. Finding no answers, Eric goes to the police station to file a report with Sgt. Skylar, who is dismissive of a missing prostitute. Later, Andrea is murdered in her bathtub by the assailant, who slashes her wrists before drowning her. As the killer exits the building, he is briefly spotted by Dolly.